Committing to Personal Growth

Every day we make a choice on what type of leader and/or person we want to be.

At LHLN, we want every student to become significant. Significant Leaders do something different – they commit to personal growth. 

Helping people become Significant Leaders is the primary reason I created LHLN in 2018. I wanted the opportunity to grow future leaders on a large scale and I knew that on my own leadership journey, that it was my own commitment to personal growth that had enabled me to become the leader and person I am today. So, what does committing to personal growth mean? Well, it means that you are focused on doing things differently.

There are three types of leaders most of us encounter. There are the Survival Leaders who are solely focused on themselves and surviving each day. They don’t really grow personally at all and usually lead through fear and focus on themselves. The second type of leader is a Successful Leader. Successful Leaders understand that to be successful, they need to support their team and focus on the team. Successful Leaders can also see the importance of personal growth, but may have not fully developed the skills to consistently employ them daily. Their focus is on their team and many leaders will find themselves here for the better part of their career. They mean well and certainly do no harm as a Survival Leader can, but they haven’t quite made the leap to the third type of leader, which is a Significant Leader. The Significant Leader sees the bigger picture. They are concerned about everyone and they are committed to personal growth, first and foremost.

Significant Leaders do things differently and focus on three key areas:

• They are intentional in what they do, every single day. They intentionally know what they need to learn to grow themselves and those they lead. Being intentional and acting with purpose is what our Intentional Leadership class is all about. Not only is acting intentionally one of my 4 Simple Truths of Leadership on any level, but it is one of the primary keys to leading others.
• Significant Leaders understand that leading with a service orientation is key to success. In law enforcement, we emphasize the importance of being tactically prepared with the people-centric values and skills, but our Servant Officer class teaches you how to do that with the heart of a servant. When you lead with service as your primary focus, you will grow future leaders – which is what all Significant Leaders realize is the rent they pay as leaders. 
• The third area that Significant Leaders recognize is that to be significant, they must be able to communicate effectively by connecting with others. A leader’s ability to take the time to learn enough about the individuals they lead so as to effectively connect with them is the most important skill they will learn. How to connect with others is our main focus in our Master Leader class. To develop this ability allows the leader to communicate effectively with those they lead, because their followers believe they understand who they are and what motivates them.

Whether you decide to become a Significant Leader or not, we at LHLN do hope you will take the first step on this journey by committing to personal growth. This doesn’t mean it happens all at once. It certainly didn’t for me. Committing to personal growth can be as simple as deciding to change a personal habit for better health. It could be a commitment to read more so as to learn more. As you are successful on one commitment, add another, and then another. Just as a human baby evolves from rolling over to walking on their own, you will find that when you take that first step, the next steps will be easier and easier and before you know it, you will be doing things you never dreamed of doing!

At LHLN, we have created three courses focused on the three key areas above to help you become a Significant Leader. While taking the courses will not magically transform you, we will guarantee an experience in each class that will be life-changing, eye-opening, and motivational. Our goal is to give you the information and inspiration to become the best version of you that you can become. In doing so, it will help you put your leadership into action every day, which creates better people, better leaders, better families, better organizations, & better communities.

In 2023, I challenge each of you to commit to your own personal growth.

Until next week,

- Dean